BWS Highlights Newsletter • February 2025

President’s Palette

The Wonderful World of Color

As I write this article, much of Maryland has been covered with a 10-inch blanket of snow. All of the familiar colors we normally see are now covered in white. I love painting snow scenes when the landscape has changed so dramatically.

Artists look at colors and try to define them as primary, secondary and tertiary, warm and cool, analogous and complementary. The rest of the world just sees red, blue and yellow. We mix them, we glaze with them and enjoy using them in many ways in our paintings.

Color affects us all in different ways. Researchers have found that the combination of the colors red and yellow placed next to each other can induce hunger, which has been capitalized by many fast-food chain restaurants. There are associations with different colors -- defining political parties or ideology, school colors, and national colors for example. Trooping the Colour is a ceremonial event each year during the Horse Guards parade in London to celebrate the official birthday of the British sovereign.

In 1961, Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color appeared on NBC, the first television network broadcasting its programs in color. Professor Ludwig Von Drake, a cartoon duck, taught about color each week in songs such as The Spectrum Song, The Green with Envy Blues and variations on “The Blue Danube.”

This month, it is time to clean out your palette, reapply fresh paint and add some new ones, too. It is fun to learn about the properties a paint has and how to use it. As you are experimenting with your paints, click onto the links below to listen to the original theme song for the Wonderful World of Color. Once it begins you might be singing along with it in your studio! The next two have nothing to do with paint, but will add color to your world. Please know that, in so many ways you add color to my world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovWym7iosi0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S18oyrA1rU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIiWpgZ3nE

Happy painting!

President
Baltimore Watercolor Society

BWS Seeks Student Members!

Do you know of a young art student who could benefit from joining the BWS?

If they are between the ages of 16 and 25 and are interested in art or are pursuing an art degree or certificate, they are eligible to join BWS for the discounted membership fee of only $20.

Benefits of student membership include: BWS social activities, programs, and workshops, plus receipt of the monthly newsletter. Students may also participate in those BWS exhibits that include student members.

Let’s encourage our student artists in their pursuit of the watercolor medium! We look forward to their participation and, as with all members, their fresh ideas on possible activities and directions for BWS.

Our First All-Member Online Exhibit - Thanks to the Volunteers

April Rimpo, BWS Treasurer and All-Member Online Exhibit Coordinator

Any first is a learning curve, so I am grateful to those who volunteered to help with different aspects of our From Pigment to Pixels, All-Member Online Exhibit. As I learned I realized there were some tasks that would have benefited from a few more volunteers, so my list here not only thanks the many helping hands, but outlines where we will be looking for assistance next year. If you have the skills let me know by emailing PigmentToPixel@baltimorewatercolorsociety.org.

• Concept development: Frank Spino
• Creation of billboard design template, in which the winning images would be placed, and creating sample images for use in the Prospectus: Devin Lulu in collaboration with Bob Coe
• Prospectus proofreading: Susan Bradley, Gina Judy
• Enhancements to emails on entering the exhibit: A half dozen members emailed with great questions that drove clarifications in the next email sent to our members about the show. These questions were often related to the size of the billboard space available for the painting images.
• Training in setting up a Call for Entry: Jim Sandford
• Training on how to setup the juror to allow her to judge the show: CaFÉ videos (Good resources are worth thanking.)
• Captions in our virtual gallery: Nishita Jain
• Award Winner images for the billboard: Devin Lulu
• Website page to feature Award Winners: Bob Coe
• Photos of winning paintings on the billboard taken by Luis Perez and Frank Spino

Additional volunteers would have benefitted this project.

• Someone to design and implement a website page about the exhibit, including a summary of the entry requirements, the sales approach and commission, awards information, and a link to the Prospectus.
• A team to review entries for proper cropping, and verify the clarity of answers to the questions on the entry form.

I thank the 131 members who entered this exhibition and provided such a wonderful set of paintings for the public to see and enjoy.

I’ve included a few images taken of the billboard with this article but be aware you can see additional billboard images in the Award Winner folder of our virtual gallery. Links are available to the virtual gallery on our Award Winner feature page at https://www.baltimorewatercolorsociety.org/From-Pigment-to-Pixels-AwardWinner where you can learn more about each Award Winner.

From the Archives: 
More Stories from the 1940s - Overshadowed by the War in 1942

Jim Sandford, Mid-Atlantic Exhibition Chair

We continue our tour of the history of the Baltimore Water Color Club’s (BWCC, the predecessor of BWS) annual exhibitions in the 1940s, navigating towards an understanding of the club’s temporary suspension during the war years.

Last month we discussed BWCC’s 43rd Annual Exhibition in November 1940 and we introduced John McGrath, BWCC Treasurer and the organizing force behind the club’s annual exhibitions. BWCC’s 44th Annual Exhibition took place 15 months later, Jan 30 - March 1, 1942 (thus skipping over the 1941 calendar year), again at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), less than two months after the United States’ official entry into World War II.

John McGrath continued to be the principal organizer of the exhibition. Planning for the 44th Annual Exhibition began days after the closure of the 43rd as McGrath began exploring schedule options with BMA Director Leslie Cheek, Jr.

So the shift from the November to the February exhibition schedule has a simple rationale—it was McGrath’s personal preference, with the memory of a difficult November fresh on his mind. As an aside, the notations in red, apparently made by Mr. Cheek himself, suggest some tensions between BWCC and BMA—fodder for future investigations. (*Editor’s note: Please click on images to view larger version.)

2 months later the outline of the exhibition schedule is taking shape, with Cheek sending his agreement on the new schedule to McGrath (perhaps in response to a little prodding from McGrath, a few days earlier)… 

(Note: The Jan 31, 1942 edition of the Baltimore Sun contains a review of a dance concert at the BMA featuring the Hanya Holm Dance Company, corresponding to McGrath’s notations at the bottom of the letter.)

Alas, had McGrath left the exhibition schedule as it was in 1940, the 44th Annual Exhibition would likely have taken place in November 1941, completely missing the United States’ entry into the war. It’s impossible to know how things might have played-out differently, but, at the very least, the show would have had many fewer distractions to deal with.

Artist announcements for the show only started appearing in December 1941, giving artists a little less than two months, overlapping the early days of the war, to get their submissions together.

A glance at the front page of that same December 14, 1941 edition of the Baltimore Sun reminds us that the announcement of the BWCC’s annual exhibition was a minor footnote to the country’s concerns of the day.

A scrap found in the BWCC archive at the BMA connects with the statement made in the Dec 14 announcement in the Sun, “The prizes, as is customary, will be awarded to the pictures selected by the sustaining members of the club on opening day.” (The statement probably should have been edited a bit to clarify that the chosen members did the presentation, not the selection, of the awards.) The members selected to present the awards are written in the margin--it is not clear how they were chosen.

Preparations for the show marched on. Amazingly, selection and announcement of jurors appears to have occurred just weeks before the opening of the show. I wonder if the outbreak of the war interfered with the juror selection process.

Andrew Wyeth was 24 in early 1941. He did not serve during the war due to a combination of being a conscientious objector and having a medical condition, Otto’s Pelvic Syndrome, which caused him to walk with a limp. He turned down the opportunity to serve in the US Navy’s Combat Artists Corps as well as a chance to cover the war for Life Magazine. He lived most of his life in Chadd’s Ford, PA, just north of Wilmington.

The article also appears to confirm that Andrew Wyeth was a member of the BWCC.

Wyeth’s father, N.C. Wyeth, had been a juror for the BWCC’s 39th Annual Exhibition in 1936 (another topic for a future report).

The exhibition brochure lists artists, painting names, and prices, but does not indicate prizes awarded. They would have only had a few days to get this printed between exhibition setup and opening.

Interestingly, the jurors also had paintings appearing in the exhibition, presumably not eligible for awards, including Andrew Wyeth’s Coot Hunter. (I’d like to go back and tap my grandfather on the shoulder to suggest that it might be worth the $350.)

Coot Hunter, by Andrew Wyeth, Watercolor on off-white wove paper, 20x30”, dated 1947-1943, Art Institute of Chicago website.

The exhibition was reviewed in the Sun on February 8, 1942. It was a complimentary but uninspired review, perhaps in keeping with the world’s other distractions of the time…

…and the same issue of the Baltimore Sun identifies the show’s overall winner, our friend Gordon Grant from the 1940 show. If there were any lingering hard feelings about the loss of his painting from the 43rd Annual Exhibition (see the January BWS Newsletter), this probably took care of them.

We will continue the story of BWCC and its annual Exhibitions through the 1940s, in next month’s newsletter.

Receive American Frame Discounts Through Our Artist Alliance Program

American Frame is a second-generation, woman-owned, family-run company, dedicated to serving artists like yourself since 1973. Our mission is to provide excellence in custom framing products, fine art printing and related services while advancing a socially responsible company that gives back to the arts. As such, we are proud to be counted among the list of donors to the BWS Mid-Atlantic Regional Exhibition. If you need design assistance or have questions about the website, we are here to help. We offer free samples, phone support as well as face-to-face ‘zoom style’ consultations via our Virtual Showroom. Our goal is to serve you in the way that makes you most comfortable.

Apply your American Frame account to the Baltimore Watercolor Society through this link: https://www.baltimorewatercolorsociety.org/Member-Discount-Codes/12652400 (you must be logged in to BWS Wild Apricot to see the link). Click on the link and sign-up or login to the American Frame Alliance Program and you will receive a reusable discount code as well as earn credit for your purchases for BWS. Be sure to check ‘Agree to Terms and Conditions.’ Once your American Frame account is linked to the Alliance Program, all of your orders will benefit BWS, even if you choose another discount to use for that order (e.g., free shipping).

Membership

Thanks to all who paid their dues between October 1st and now. As of January 15th, we still have 73 members who have yet to renew online or send a check to the Membership Chair. Please remember, to be considered on time, dues should be paid by January 31st. If you have sent a check, there may be mail delivery delays, but we will process your check as soon as it arrives.

It is suggested that you pay your dues online to expedite processing. Follow the link in the invoice that we emailed to you in December or sign on here to pay your dues online.

You can also pay by sending a check made out to the “Baltimore Watercolor Society” and mailing it to:
Janice Hendra - Membership
103 Avondale Circle
Severna Park, MD 21146

While you are paying your dues, please also consider making a donation to BWS. There are several categories/funds to which donations can be designated and instructions for making a Donation can be found here.

We very much appreciate your continued interest in BWS.

Welcome New Associate Members

Bernice Brennan, Selbyville, DE
Jean Burdaspar, East Lyme, CN
Chryl Casso Corizzo, Mandeville, LA
Terri Coulston, Daleville, VA
Rita Dettore, Selbyville, DE
Spencer Fajardo, Baltimore, MD
Cheryl Frisby, Greenwood, DE
Kazuko Funahashi, Alexandria, VA
Cynthia Graham, Columbia, MD
Alexa Hirst, Washington, DC
Janet Hoveland, Rockville, MD
Susan Kiedio, Parma Hts, OH
Geetha Kumar, Owings Mills, MD
Betty Marose, Columbia, MD
Kirsten Pullin, Baltimore, MD
Mary Shelsby, Berlin, MD
Sherilyn Short, Baton Rouge, LA
Erin Villareal, Baltimore, MD
Melanie Wright, Carlisle, PA
Antonietta Zepp, Silver Spring, MD

Opportunities

Dear Plein Air Artists,
Soon it will be nice enough to take your equipment outside without having to put foot warmers in your shoes! This year’s popular Frederick County Landmarks Foundation’s Barnstormers event will take place June 14, 2025. Registration information will soon be available at https://www.fredericklandmarks.org.